Week 5 Trends & Issues

Trend: Coding
As more people get into coding, more people are gaining a better understanding of the way things work. Most everyone uses some sort of computer or mobile device daily. Understanding coding is allowing them to go beyond the basic functions and really utilize more of the potential technology holds. Personally, I have very little interest in this topic. Of course, I watch things on TV or in movies where people learn how to hack systems and rewrite programs to solve crimes or break into places. But when it comes to the real world, coding is not something I would see myself doing or being good at. I use technology in a pretty basic way. I use my phone to text, make calls, connect on social media, check emails, etc. and my computer is used for much of the same. I use the same applications everyday and have no desire to further my knowledge of how they work. I see how this could potentially be something useful as a science major, but being at the elementary level is a different matter. Unless a student is highly advanced, the chances of a student in elementary school being able to work with coding successfully and fully utilize the potential of their devices is unlikely.  Upper middle and high school students would be a great age group to introduce some sort of coding class to. Given that I would like to work with lower elementary students, I will more than likely never follow the trend of coding.

Issue: Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is harassment through the use of a computer, phone, or other electronic device with the intention of causing harm or embarrassment. Cyberbullying most commonly appears on social media, in this day and age. People can create all sorts of anonymous or public profiles or pages meant to bully another person or group online. Statistics from cyberbully.org compare 9 different studies of middle and high school students from 2007-2015. The studies showed that, on average, about 26.3% of students from 2007-2015 reported that they had been victimized somehow by cyberbullying. In 2007, about 18.8% of students reported being victimized by cyberbullying. Compare that to 34% of students in 2015, the number nearly doubled. The increased importance of staying relevant on social media that came with the changing times increased with it the number of students being affected by being bullied or harassed online. 

The Cyberbullying Research Center offers samples of assemblies in schools to inform students how to be responsible and safe in the world online. This particular assembly applies to upper elementary 3-5 graders. Upper Elementary Cyberbullying Assembly   Having someone come in and talk to students directly about potential dangers and introduce how to avoid bullying online could help to stop future cyberbullying that could potentially occur. Informing them at a young age, as they start to explore technology and social media, puts the information in their heads and can help keep kids safe.

Week 3 Discussion

Resource 1:

Title- Light Waves; experiments & informational text
URL- TeachersPayTeachers
How I found it- I searched on Teachers Pay Teachers using the keyword light, first grade, subject physical science, & looking at free resources.
How I will use in final project- I would use this resource with the lesson to begin learning about light & stirring up any previous knowledge they have about light. This will also be helpful throughout the lesson once students have completed their explorations of the effects of light & are learning the specific terminology.
Standard-

1-PS4-3.	Plan and conduct investigations to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light.

Resource 2:

 Title- Am I That Transparent?
URL- The Polka Dotted Teacher
How I found it- I found this awesome freebie by utilizing a blog I discovered in my PLN. The Polka Dotted Teacher blog has a ton of freebies for teachers so I searched her page for light activities. This resource was the top result.
How I will use in final project- This activity would fit right in with the learning of terminology, i.e. transparent, translucent, & opaque. Sorting is a great fine motor skill for first grade students so this activity will be perfect for a first grade lesson.
Standard-

1-PS4-3.	Plan and conduct investigations to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light.

Resource 3:

Title- Experiment #3 (Light Experiment)
URL- What the Teacher Wants
How I found it- I found this resource using a Pinterest search for first grade light activities. I found a link to the blog What the Teacher Wants with this great resource.
How I will use in final project- I would use this as part of the experimenting & exploring the students do to discover the effects of light on objects made of different materials. Hands-on, inquiry-based learning can be very helpful to keep students focused on the task at hand & really want to participate.
Standard-

1-PS4-3.	Plan and conduct investigations to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light.

The Common Myths of Education

Of all the myths, I would have to say that I definitely found myself agreeing with the article discussing student engagement. Saying that a student is fully engaged in a classroom based on one criteria is not always true and can actually harm the student in the future. I was surprised by the article discussing learning styles. It has always been a part of my philosophy that students learn in different ways and can learn best when those considerations are made. With further thinking, I can see how maybe I was being too specific and need to think more broadly. Some students learn and work better under certain conditions, but this does not mean that they should be labeled as a certain type of learner (such as visual, auditory, etc.)Through my experience in teacher assisting, I saw how some kindergarteners performed best when my CT and myself set them up with certain consistent elements. For example, one student often got distracted and was the cause of other students' distractions. She worked more diligently when someone would sit down with her and talk to her about her work so she could focus on what she was doing and not other things. Other students worked hard but needed a longer period of time to complete their work because they just worked slower. The work was very thorough, it just took longer. I think that in my future classroom, I will still want to shape things to work in favor of how my students learn. To evade the myth that different learning styles exist and benefit students, I will avoid labeling students as one specific thing. I want to be able to observe my students and work with them to find a learning environment that best fits them to become successful. If I was told by a superior to teach a lesson in a certain way or to change something that I thought would help the students' learning, I would find a respectful and manageable alternative solution to suggest. I would create a list of students (named or not) that learn better under the conditions I hoped to create and let the administrator know why I would teach things a certain way. Hopefully we could come up with some compromise, at the very least. It is important to keep administrators happy, but in the end the learning is number one.

Blogging in the Classroom

My dream for teaching is to be in a classroom teaching first grade. In this setting, I would not be able to require students to create and use their own blogs because at that age, they are just being able to progress in their reading and writing skills. I think that in this scenario, I would use a blog to communicate with parents and even other teachers. Posting about goings on in the classroom would replace a simple note sent home. This way, parents can respond right on the blog and interact with me as well as each other. Parents communicating their thoughts to me will be very important and helpful for me and the students. Other teachers could also view the blog and respond to different things with their own input or ideas of teaching certain things. Suggestions are always welcome and this would help us work together as a team much more efficiently. I like the idea of sharing everything right on the spot so there are no important notes or dates forgotten because a student didn't bring a note home or I forgot to write something down. Everything happens right away and viewers can go back to previous posts if they missed one. Parents can also read the blog with their children if they want to share important things. This is the way I would use blogging in my future classroom.

Learner Analysis

For my learner analysis, I have chosen Stuart Minkus from the show Boy Meets World from the 1990s. Stuart is most often referred to by the main characters of the show as Minkus. He is the nerdy genius in the class and quite a know-it-all. Minus loves to show off his superior knowledge of (all) topics and is not often wrong. His greatest interest in the show, besides getting straight A's and showing off his large brain, is his love for Topanga Lawrence. Minus is always picked on by the main characters Cory and Shawn, as well as most other students in the school. He appears to be of a higher or upper middle class status.

I think if Stuart Minkus was in my class, I would have to be quite resourceful and creative. Using strategies to extend the learning would be necessary because he is such an obviously advanced student. I would find other activities for him to perform and complete, such as tasks that go beyond the material to apply what he already knows. He could complete research projects, write essays, etc. Taking it that step farther would be helpful to keep Minkus from becoming bored and a distraction in the classroom. He obviously loves learning, as well as showing what he has learned.

I would say that Minkus is definitely college ready, in the academic sense. I think that socially, Minkus could stand to grow and mature some. He has trouble fitting in with most students and is not really well liked throughout the show. College is more than just classes, it is a network of people who work together.

Stuart Minkus- Boy Meets World Characters

This video clip shows Minkus trying to show off in class yet again. However, his teacher Mr. Feeny informs him he has gotten the answer wrong. The beginning shows Mr. Feeny and Cory discussing the problem and the wrong answer. Minkus comes in around 1 minute.

About Me

My name is Kelsie Taylor and this is me! I am going for an elementary certification, specifically majoring in integrated sciences. My dream teaching position would probably be in a first grade classroom similar to an area I grew up in. I come from Grand Haven, MI and I live about 5 minutes from Lake Michigan. I love spending time in the sunshine and just having some relaxing good times. For fun, I often spend time with my family and friends. One of my favorite things in the entire world is laughing; I’m at my happiest when I can sit and laugh with people. I like to be fun and goofy, and it shows in my everyday life.

I do not have that much experience with technology in the classroom. My teacher assisting placement used a smart board daily, however, everything was doable at a kindergarten level. Meaning, my kindergarteners all knew how to work the controls and navigate the simple buttons using the touchscreen and pen. The commands were easy enough for a 5-year-old to learn to control. As for planning, everything that was done had been preapproved or planned by my CT. I always used the program she had setup for the class every day and any extra activities were created or chosen by her ahead of time. There really was no need for me to plan much out before. 

Here is a video from a vacation I took with some friends last year. You can see that even when I am relaxing, I am still goofing off and having a good time.

This was my last day as a teacher assistant at my placement. I was in a kindergarten classroom in East Grand Rapids.